High-Level Project Summary
In the World's Biodiversity Hotspots, optical (rather than acoustic) sensors can be used to contribute to the identification of groups of insects and to measure their behavior in the air over time.Increased specificity can be achieved with vertical beam radars of the type that provide information on the size, shape and wing strike frequencies of targets.In addition, a sound frequency that will bring the female and male individuals together and attract them to the same area will undoubtedly work in increasing the reproduction rates of insects. Likewise, invasive insects that enter the fields can be driven out by frequencies and attracted to breeding areas.
Link to Project "Demo"
Link to Final Project
Detailed Project Description
We carried out our study on the points in the world that contain endemic species and where insect extinctions are increasing. These regions make up 2% of the world. Researching and conducting studies in these areas can help us save endangered insect species.
While working on our project, we studied the sounds of insects belonging to the subfamily Geotrupes stercorarius and Gomphocerinae. We examined the sounds that males and females make before mating.
Such sounds are an important part of sexual selection and reproduction. We thought that if we could artificially make these sounds to impress over long distances, we could help insects find each other. Thus, we directly contribute to the growth of the population.
In the same way, a number of sounds can be made to bring males and females together.
We thought that various sensor systems could be created in order to distinguish the sounds made by insects according to species and to determine the characteristics of insects well.
optical (rather than acoustic) sensors can be used to contribute to the identification of groups of insects and to measure their behavior in the air over time.
It can be used to estimate the insect flapping frequency, which allows discrimination between insects and
It also allows distinctions between the wing and fuselage sections of the species, and this also allows for the acquisition of wingbeat harmonics important for species identification.
Thus, these sensors could potentially be used to measure the abundance and spatio-temporal position of insects both during the day and at night.
We put the insects in different temperatures and environments with different humidity, then tested the frequency and intensity of the sounds they made. We observed that a bark beetle Dendroctonus micans They had a hard time moving and almost made no sound when we host it at a temperature as high as 50 degrees. Between 30-40 degrees, the sounds they make increased and we calculated this as the activity range. Between 29-15 degrees, the frequency of the sound decreased, and the activity of the insects decreased as the temperatures decreased. In this way, we observed that temperatures also play an important role in the communication and survival of insects.
We also investigated the rate of genetic drift occurring in populations and the effects of various types of selection on the population. We've also collected a lot of data on equilibrating species interactions.
Space Agency Data
In our project, we benefited from many data on Biodiversity and climate change.
We used resources like NASA and Nature. (We also mentioned all the sources we used in the bibliography). At the same time, we carried out our study by bringing the information we had obtained in the past into consideration. We learned a lot about insect biodiversity, genetic drift, and types of selection in nature from Charles Darwin's book on Sexual Selection and Campbell Biology. We also got as much information as possible from satellite images and insect migration maps.
Hackathon Journey
We've always been interested in science, and when we learned that NASA was hosting an event, we wanted to join in to use our knowledge to help humanity and test our ability to solve problems. We learned about the Challenge too late, we learned that our acquaintances and other participants have been aware of the competition for a long time and have been working on their projects for a long time. That's why we had a hard time, but we kept our motivation high and believed in ourselves to make a project that will contribute to humanity. All in all, we did a great job.
We chose this topic because we are very interested in evolutionary biology and animals. Especially the diversity and mysterious world of insects made us very curious.
While we were doing the project, we were a little disappointed when we saw that the other teams were way ahead of us, but we were confident and kept our motivation as high as possible.
During the project, we learned a lot about insect biodiversity and population genetics. We will definitely use this information in the future.
Overall our Spaceapps experience was good and fun. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the establishment of NASA for allowing us to spend a fun and science-filled time. We will always stay with science.
References
- https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0080708
- https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0056503
- https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/causes-and-consequences-of-biodiversity-declines-16132475/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320719317793
- https://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/lter/pubs/pdf/pub2400.pdf
- https://www.nasa.gov/feature/esd/2020/nasa-fosters-innovative-ways-to-understand-biodiversity
- https://earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/pathfinders/biodiversity
- https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/36209/insect-damage-in-british-columbia-forests
- https://vis.globe.gov/GLOBE/
- Campbell Biology (Book) - Palme Publications
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269900724_Selecting_insects_as_flagship_species_for_Beverin_Nature_Park_in_Switzerland_-_a_survey_of_local_school_children_on_their_attitudes_towards_butterflies_and_other_insects
Tags
#Biology, #Population Genetics
Global Judging
This project has been submitted for consideration during the Judging process.